Mayor Compares Atheists To Nazis, KKK After Being Sued By ACLU, Secular Groups

[cbayer]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/24/jim-fouts-atheist-lawsuit_n_5617761.html

The Huffington Post | By Shadee Ashtari

Posted: 07/24/2014 3:30 pm EDT Updated: 07/24/2014 3:59 pm EDT


Mayor Jim Fouts is being sued for rejecting an atheist resident's request to set up a "reason station" alongside a long-standing "prayer station" in the Warren City Hall atrium. | creativecommons.org

The American Civil Liberties Union in Michigan and two secular groups are suing the city of Warren and its mayor, Jim Fouts, on behalf of an atheist resident who was forbidden from setting up a "reason station" alongside a long-standing "prayer station" in the City Hall atrium.

While Fouts has permitted a local church group to distribute religious pamphlets and pray with visitors in the atrium since 2009, he rejected a similar proposal by Freedom From Religion member Douglas Marshall to discuss atheism and freethought in April.

Wednesday's lawsuit, filed with Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, claims that Fouts violated Marshall's First Amendment rights by endorsing "traditional religious beliefs over atheistic beliefs."

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, states:

Defendants' decision made Mr. Marshall feel unwelcome at the Civic Center, an outsider in the community, a second-class citizen in Warren, and a disfavored member of a religious minority group. Mr. Marshall further objects to his tax payments supporting the operation and maintenance of a facility that Defendants control in a discriminatory manner that advances traditional religious beliefs over atheistic beliefs.

more at link

[ReRe]

1. Compares Atheists ...

... to Nazis and KKK? Now, I ask you. Would Mayor Fouts not fit right in at a Nazi or KKK meeting? Look. At. Those. Eyes. He'd be a great sub for the dentist who worked on Dustin Hoffman's teeth while Dustin was tied to a chair in Marathon Man.

[cbayer]

2. And here is the ultimate ironic statement made by the mayor:

"I cannot accept or will not allow a group that is disparaging of another group to have a station here."

[ReRe]

3. er...

Wow... I missed that. The only one in this 3-way who could be called "disparaging" is the Mayor! Yip, the ACLU will walk away with this one. That is, unless the judge is as crazy as the Mayor.

[cbayer]

4. I think this is probably going to be a win for the secularists. The mayor

is just making it that much easier.

[edhopper]

5. Given the Far Right Judges

Republicans have put in, I am not so sure.

[cbayer]

6. Actually, based on what I can find, the Michigan Appeals courts have

been pretty liberal in terms of their decisions on secular/religious questions.

They made at least two decisions against companies arguing for a Holly Hobby type exemptions before SOTUS ruled.

[edhopper]

7. That is good news.

[TygrBright]

8. Dude looks like a nerd version of Putin and just about as human. n/t